Daily Roundup: August 11, 2011

No Joke: Banana peels may soon be used to extract pollution from water. NPR

Perpetual Taxi: The Netherlands is testing mandatory meters that will charge drivers for every mile traveled. New York Times

Slap on the Wrist: A federal panel issued a report urging oil and gas companies to monitor the environmental impacts of fracking more closely, but concluded that its extraction process likely won't leach toxic chemicals into water supplies. Reuters

Phantom Fungus: After appearing to have been gone for 170 years, green-glowing "ghost mushrooms" have been spotted in Brazil's rainforest. TreeHugger

New Focus: Along with its all-electric Focus model, Ford will start selling solar panels. Forbes

--Colin Griffin